About five years ago, I was called to reach out to the lost and hurting youth and families of our nation. Looking into the eyes of lost and hurting teens, I was reminded what it felt like to be abused, abandoned, and alone in my own teen years.


My response was to develop rekenekt, a program to impact hurting teens and their families designed for mother/daughter, parent, and youth conferences. I uphold the vision that if parents reclaim their roles as protectors, providers, and mentors for their children, fewer teens will find themselves in crisis. If we are proactive rather than reactive as parents during this difficult age, we will be able to walk alongside our lost and hurting teens and help guide them through their most challenging years. We can help them survive adolescence and emerge victoriously as productive, positive, and faithful young adults.

The one thing I consistently hear from hurting teens is that they don’t have anyone in their lives who care. Most of them are wrong. They do have parents who love them but the messages they hear are getting distorted by the confusing issues they experience everyday. They feel lost, alone, and hopeless. They desperately want to connect with someone who can help them find their way. I believe that parents, in most cases, are still the best mentors for their children.

Reconnecting parents and teens is difficult in this fast paced culture where texting and tweeting has replaced honest communication. An old tin can phone shares the idea that getting a good old fashioned conversation started can go a long way to repairing damaged relationships and reconnecting parents and their teens.

Rekenekt programs are available as single, hour-long sessions, multiple day retreats, or consecutive week trainings. Programs are designed to meet the needs of faith based organizations and those who embrace family values in a secular environment.

If you are interested in more information about rekenekt
please contact Tricia at: trish@cornerstonecomm.org

 

 

 
rekenekt graffiti wall

Visit the rekenekt graffiti wall in the expo center at Lifest. Youth can express themselves freely, honestly and anonymously. Parents have a wall of their own where they can tell their children everything they can’t seem to say in person. The graffiti wall is a profound visual wake-up call and powerful reminder that we need to rekenekt. Lives have been changed because of the words written on this wall.

“If this is true, if these words are real, then we have a lot of work to do.” -a single father

“This is the best part of this event. I feel new and clean after writing these words. Thank you.”
-a suicidal teen girl
 

The rekenekt graffiti wall has traveled all over Wisconsin to youth and family events, conferences, and retreats.

It is a powerful reminder of the strained relationships that exist between teens and parents. There is something about the anonymity and freedom to express themselves that allows teens to pour their hearts out with raw honesty.   To see teens write their feelings in their own handwriting is a profound visual wake-up call to parents. Parents have a wall of their own where they tell their children everything they can’t seem to say in person.

Lives have been changed because of the words written on this wall.

“If this is true, if these words are real, then we have a lot of work to do.”
-a single father of a teen girl

“This is the best part of this event. I feel new and clean after writing these words.
Thank you.”
-a suicidal teen girl

“No one has ever asked me what I want to tell my dad. They just assume I hate him. I don’t, I need him.”
-a 17 year old girl

“Thank you for letting me write the words I could not tell my son before he killed himself. Maybe another boy will read it and live.”
-a grieving mother

To bring the graffiti wall to your next event, contact Tricia at:
trish@cornerstonecomm.org